European Union: Directive on the accessibility requirements for products and services was adopted

On 9 April 2019, the Council adopted the Directive setting mandatory accessibility requirements for specified products and services to ensure their usability by persons with disabilities and to prevent divergent national regulations from disrupting the internal market. The Directive applies to products such as consumer general-purpose computer hardware systems, self-service terminals including payment terminals, automated teller machines, and interactive information terminals, consumer terminal equipment for electronic communications and audiovisual media services, and e-readers, as well as services including electronic communications with provisions for emergency communications to the single European emergency number '112', audiovisual media access, air, bus, rail, and waterborne passenger transport excluding urban and suburban services for certain elements, consumer banking, e-books with dedicated software, and e-commerce. It mandates compliance with detailed accessibility criteria outlined in Annex I, covering perceivability, operability, understandability, and robustness, while allowing exemptions under Article 14 where compliance would impose a disproportionate burden or require fundamental alteration, subject to documented assessment under Annex VI.